Profile

Canstruction calls for entries for 20th anniversary competition

DAVID CROWDER PHOTOGRAPHY — Canstruction Toronto is calling for teams of engineers, architects and designers to submit their entries for this year’s competition, which serves to raise awareness for the growing hunger gap. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the event in Toronto. Pictured is one of last year’s winners.

TORONTO — Canstruction Toronto, an annual international design and build competition to raise awareness about the growing hunger gap, is inviting teams of engineers, architects and designers to take part in the 20th anniversary of the competition.

The event will take place at the Toronto Dominion Centre this year. Teams will design and build “Canstructures,” which are made entirely from canned foods within a 10-foot-by-10-foot-by-eight-foot space.

A jury will judge the completed canstructures on May 14 and the winners will be announced at a reception at the Design Exchange.

Teams will compete for titles of Best Design, Best Use of Labels, Best Meal, Structural Ingenuity and People’s Choice.

Following the competition and exhibition, the structures will be deconstructed and all the cans will be donated to Daily Bread Food Bank, the largest provider of food relief in the Greater Toronto Area.

Last year, Canstruction teams donated 52,165 pounds of shelf-stable food to Daily Bread Food Bank, which was distributed to its member agencies’ meal programs and community-based food banks, to supply 120,000 client visits, states a release issued by Canstruction.

Since its inception in 1999, Canstruction Toronto has contributed 70 million pounds of food to programs around the world. Canstruction events are held annually in over 150 cities around the world in North America, Australia, South America, Europe and Asia.

“Canstruction does three great things,” said Neil Hetherington, CEO of Daily Bread Food Bank, in a statement.

“It provides almost half of our non-perishable donations in a month when public donations are low, it showcases the creativity and generosity of Toronto’s top architects and it sparks conversations about how we, together, can build a better city and make the lives of Torontonians better.”

Some key dates for this year’s competition include an information night on Jan. 17 at 6 p.m. at the Design Exchange, Jan. 25 is the deadline for registration and Feb. 15 is the design submission deadline. May 13 is build night and the awards gala will be held May 14. The exhibit will be open to the public May 14 to 17 and May 18 is “decanstruction.”